After years of pressure, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted the long awaited resolution calling for a single, independent gender entity. The new reform will provide a system-wide coherence of the UN gender equality approach by consolidation of the existing gender-related bodies.
A detailed structure proposal will be finalized mid-December; once approved by the Secretary-General, Member States will consider it in a special session in February 2010. The new entity will be headed by an Under Secretary-General thus securing a high level of authority within the UN. The recruiting process will start as soon the UN General Assembly has allocated funding for the position. The appointment will hopefully be confirmed by March 2010.
The GEAR Campaign (Gender Equality Architecture Reform), a network of more than 310 civil society organizations of which IFUW is a member, played a key role in the campaign to achieve the above changes.
GEAR believes that the effectiveness of the new entity depends largely on the level of funding and is calling for an annual budget starting at $1 billion. Some parties would prefer a large percentage of this to come from voluntary donors. IFUW believes that most should come from the regular assessed contributions.
GEAR continues to push for a “systematic and meaningful participation of civil society, especially women’s organizations” in the work of the new entity. Civil society should be given “a voice” through access of meetings, participation in policy formulations, agenda setting, monitoring etc.
What commitment has your government made towards the implementation of the entity? IFUW urges its national federations and associations to contact their government to lobby for adequate funding for the entity’s works and for a strong civil society role in the process.
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